The Detroit Pistons have won five Championships, two being in the NBL and three since joining the NBA. They were founded in 1941 as the Fort Wayne (Zollner) Pistons and were then renamed in1957 as the Detroit Pistons. In the history of the franchise, some of the best players are Joe Dumars, Grant Hill, Dave Bing, Isiah Thomas, Ben Wallace and Chauncey Billups. The best Detroit Pistons of all-time are Chauncey Billups, Joe Dumars and Isiah Thomas.

After franchise cornerstone Dwight Howard requested for a trade, the Orlando Magic have since been the center of attention heading into the start of 2011-12 season. Trade talk has swirled around Dwight Howard as different trade scenarios seemed to change daily. But trade talk has since died down and we may see Howard in a Magic jersey until probably half the season, and then he would likely be traded to the Nets, Lakers or Mavericks. If the Magic come out of the gates and play strong to preserve their identity as contenders, then they may be able to convince Howard to stay. As it stands though, it’s hard to imagine them regaining their momentum after being upset by the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the playoffs last year.

The Atlanta Hawks earned the fifth seed in the East after ending the season with a 44-38 mark last year. The Hawks took down an unimpressive Orlando Magic in the opening round but were beaten by Chicago in the next. While they managed an upset over Orlando, it has been obvious that Atlanta is trying to make the jump to becoming a top tier squad. After winning 53 times in 2009-10, Atlanta struggled and ended up with nine less wins in 2010-11.

In 2011, the Dallas Mavericks won their very first NBA championship. Before winning the championship, they’d won 3 divisional titles and 2 conference titles. This thirty-year old team has had quite a good number of household names on their roster. Players like Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki, Brad Davis, Mark Aguirre, Jason Kidd and Rolando Blackman are some of the best to ever play for Dallas. In the opinons of our NBA handicappers, the greatest Dallas Mavericks of all-time are Jason Kidd, Mark Aguirre, and Dirk Nowitzki.